The New York Knicks have been linked with a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo since August, but they don’t appear to be pursuing him with great urgency ahead of the trade deadline. Because the Knicks lack future first round picks, they would almost certainly need to shop the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges around the league for picks or young players that would satisfy the demands of the Milwaukee Bucks, and there are not currently any strong signals that activity is happening from Leon Rose’s front office.
“The Knicks believe in this team,” said Brian Windhorst on Monday’s episode of Get Up. “And that could end up being an excellent assessment, or that could end up being a mistake. But they believed in this team last summer when Giannis was sort of loosely available in in those discussions. They didn’t make an aggressive offer at that time to progress those talks.
“If they want to win a bidding war for Giannis now, I think it’s going to take a three- or four-team trade where they take some of their players, go out and get other assets for them and then come back to the Bucks and make very strong offers. That is just not happening. They are not showing that aggression to get Giannis right now. And I think that’s because they like this team.
“They don’t think the Eastern Conference is a giant mountain to climb. And while this team has flaws, the entire East is limited in some capacity. And so, look, if Giannis doesn’t get traded and the Knicks don’t win the East this year, this could be revisited [in the offseason]. But the Knicks with their words and actions, what Jim Dolan recently said in an interview that he believes in this team, I don’t think we’re headed in that direction right now.”
The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but then fired Tom Thibodeau and replaced him with Mike Brown. The Knicks have better utilized their depth this season, but the success of this season will be judged based on whether they reach the Finals.
There is some belief around the league that the Bucks are not yet serious about trading Antetokounmpo ahead of the February 5th deadline on Thursday and are instead attempting to establish a minimum trade price for teams to beat in June when potentially more bidders with more available assets to trade enter the conversation in earnest.